Gingerbread Spice Christmas Tree Bread #BreadBakers

I am extremely excited about how this bread turned out. I pictured it in my head and went over how I would shape it way too many times. How many layers should I use? How much dough do I need? How would I shape each layer into the same size triangle? Decisions. Decisions. I calculated the area of the circles of star breads I have made in the past then figured out rectangles with the same area. I drew a sketch of what I would do. Who says you don't use maths after you leave school?

Try to work as quickly as possible. You don't want this bread rising too long or it will start to lose its shape. However, even if it does, it will still look great coming out of the oven. Your hard work will not be for naught. 

Thanks so much, Felice for hosting this month's Tear & Share Holiday Breads. I was so happy to flex some creative muscles. Scroll down to see some other gorgeous loaves for your holiday table. 

Gingerbread Spice Christmas Tree Bread 

Ingredients

Dough

330 grams flour 

3 tablespoons sugar 

2 teaspoons yeast 

1 teaspoon salt 

1 egg

1/2 cup milk 

1/4 cup oil

1 teaspoon vanilla 

Filling 

1 egg, beaten 

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon 

2 teaspoons ginger 

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 

1/4 teaspoon allspice

Directions 

Mix all the dough ingredients together and knead for about 7 minutes. You want a very soft dough. It should not be too sticky to handle though. If so, sprinkle in some flour, if it is dry, add a tablespoon or so of milk. 

Place the dough in a greased bowl and allow to rise until doubled. I prefer to let it rest in the fridge overnight. 

When the dough is doubled, mix together all the filling ingredients. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper. 

Divide the dough into 2 pieces. Working with one piece at a time,  roll each into an 11" x 14" rectangle. Using the diagram below as a guide, cut out a triangle that has a base of 11 inches and a height of 14 inches. 

Place the unshaded (isosceles) triangle on the parchment paper.  Brush with the beaten egg then top with a third of the filling - roughly 3 tablespoons. 

Form the two remaining pieces of dough (the shaded areas or right-angled triangles) into a triangle on top of the filling. The 14-inch sides should meet in the middle. 

Brush with more egg and sprinkle with another third of filling. 

Top this layer of filling with the shaded (right-angle) triangles from the second piece of dough.

 

Brush with egg again and top with the rest of the filling. 

Cover with the second unshaded (isosceles) triangle. You may need to stretch the top piece a bit. But fret not, it will work out in the end. 

Gently mark out a center "trunk" for the tree. I started with a one-inch trunk at the bottom and then narrowed that towards the top. 

Cut one-inch strips on either side of your trunk. Be sure not to cut your trunk! I placed my ruler in the middle for the one-inch areas and used wooden spoon handles as I narrowed. That ensured I didn't cut too far in.

Twist each strip in the same direction. 

Allow the tree to rest for about 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350 F. 

Brush the dough with the remaining beaten egg. 

Bake 25-30 minutes. 

Celebrate! You made it!

 #BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month the Bread Bakers are making Tear & Share Holiday Breads, a theme chosen by Felice from All That's Left Are The Crumbs.

And don’t forget to check out all the amazing breads baked by our talented bakers ~

• Baklava Danish Tear and Share Treat Bread by A Messy Kitchen
• Buttery Soft Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Cheesy Chicken Chutney Pull Apart Skillet Rolls by Sneha's Recipe
• Cheesy Tomato Tapenade Party Bread by Food Lust People Love
• Cranberry Cinnamon Star Bread by Making Miracles
• Fruit Mince Braided Star Bread by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Gingerbread Spice Christmas Tree Bread by Passion Kneaded
• Herb and Cheese Star Bread by Ambrosia
• Koledna Pitka - Bulgarian Christmas Eve Bread by Magical Ingredients
• Pumpkin Spice Pull-Apart Loaf by Palatable Pastime
• Spiced Chrysanthemum Bread by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Turkey, Cranberry and Cheese Pull Apart Bread by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Mini Peanut Butter Bundts - #BundtBakers

I have been thinking about this month's Bundt Bakers for months! I haven't been able to participate in Bundt Bakers consistently so when I see a theme that I can do, I get a bit excited. Thanks for hosting and choosing this theme, Wendy!

This recipe is slightly adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction and is actually a cupcake recipe. Sally uses creamy peanut butter plus crushed peanuts because she finds chunky peanut butter to be drier. However, I already had a huge jar of chunky that I was saving just for this recipe and decided to risk it. The mini bundts were extremely moist! Definitely not dry. I could see how some extra peanuts could add some extra flavour but I loved them as is with some crunchy from the chunky peanut butter. Loved, loved, loved them! 

I happily had this as my post-class snack yesterday and am looking forward to eating another one later today. I showed my students one of them and they were not happy that they were stuck online and couldn't taste my cake in person. I must admit, I was teasing them. Side note: The class has nothing to do with food but somehow we always end up talking food. The first day of class, we all got to talking about how hungry we were. Last week we were talking about cakes and it came out that one of the students and I share a birthday. That is probably the 8th person I know born on my birthday.

Mini Peanut Butter Bundt Cakes 

Yield: Four 1-cup mini Bundts.

Ingredients

150g  all purpose flour 

1/2 teaspoon soda

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/2 cup canola oil 

1/2 cup of peanut butter 

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1/3 cup of yogurt, room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla

3/4 cup milk, room temperature

Directions 

Grease and flour four mini Bundt pans. My pans hold a cup of liquid each. You might have a little left over, so you can bake a little cupcake too. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt. Use a mixer to mix oil, peanut butter, egg, yogurt, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and milk and mix until completely combined.

Fill each mini Bundt about 2/3rds full. Bake 20-25 minutes. 

Cool and enjoy.  

• Banana Bundt with Cocoa Peanut Butter Glaze from Sweet Sensations
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Bundt Cake from Patyco Candybar
• Easy Frosted Peanut Butter Bundt Cake from Making Miracles
• Mini Peanut Butter Bundts from Passion Kneaded
• PB & J Mini Bundt Cake from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Peanut Butter Cake With Cream Cheese Peanut Butter Frosting from Sneha's Recipe
• Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Pound Cake from Palatable Pastime
• Peanut Butter, Nutella and Banana Bundt from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Walnut Butter Bundt Cake from Food Lust People Love

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers, can be found on our home page

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Callaloo Loaf - #BreadBakers

One of the original staples at a Jamaican patty shop is the meat loaf. The meat loaf is ground beef stuffed in folded yeast dough. Always sold in a brown paper bag. Eventually, as the patty evolved from only ground beef fillings, the meat loaf evolved as well. Now you can get vegetarian options such as the callaloo loaf. Let me be very very honest - I think I have only tasted a callaloo loaf once. It's delicious but I prefer meat. I don't even order meat loaves that much - give me a patty any time, any day. Oh, I should mention that callaloo is a green leafy vegetable - similar to spinach or collard greens. The word "callaloo" means different things and different plants on different islands. In Jamaica, it is a plant from the amaranth family.

I have made meat loaves already for this blog so for this month's stuffed bread, it was time to try something new. I have made these a couple times already and everyone seems to love them. My brother said they were pretty similar to the patty shop's version. And my nephews gobbled them down. It is pretty versatile because you can throw whatever vegetables and seasonings that you love in there and know that it will be delicious. I hid the last batch that I made - I am not sharing this time! Shh!

Thank you, Renu for hosting this month. If you want to see how the other Bread Bakers stuffed their bread, scroll down!

Callaloo Loaves

Ingredients

360 g flour 

1 tablespoon sugar 

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 teaspoon salt 

130 ml water 

90 ml milk 

14 ml oil

2 cups cooked callaloo

Directions 

Combine all the ingredients and knead until it forms a smooth, soft, and slightly tacky dough. If the dough seems dry, add a tablespoon or so of water. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and allow to rest until doubled. You can also put it in the refrigerator overnight. This is my preferred method for doughs. 

When the dough is ready, divide into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a roughly 6 to 7 inch circle. Add 2 heaped tablespoons of callaloo to the center of the circle ensuring that the edges do not have any filling. Moisten the edges all around with water then fold over and seal the dough well. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 

Allow the stuffed doughs to rest about 20 minutes while you preheat the oven. When the oven is ready, bake 20 minutes until golden. 

Notes

Callaloo is cooked just like spinach sauteed with whatever you like - onions, garlic, pepper, salt. You can also add additional vegetables - carrots, tomatoes. It is really good with saltfish. It wilts a ton too.

 Welcome to Bread Bakers! This month, our theme is Stuffed Baked Breads and our host is Renu of Cook with Renu. Final List for Stuffed Baked Breads Welcome to Bread Bakers! This month, our theme is Stuffed Baked Breads and our host is Renu of Cook with Renu.

• Coconut Buns by Magical Ingredients
• Callaloo Loaf by Passion Kneaded
• Double Cheese Fatayers by Ambrosia
• Meatball Stromboli by Palatable Pastime
• Pepperoni Rolls by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Ricotta Calzones with Spinach and Sausage by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Rolled Pepperoni Pizza Loaf by Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Custard buns by Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Stuffed Potato Kulcha by Sneha's Recipe
• Sweet Potato and Apple Braid by What Smells So Good?
• Taco Tuesday Calzone by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Whole Wheat Vegetarian Calzones by Cook with Renu

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. 

 

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bundt - #BundtBakers

A couple months ago, I lamented that we were finally getting some rain (goodbye, drought!) but unfortunately, I did not have any pumpkin seeds to plant. I finally got some seeds and stuffed them in random places all over the backyard. I spotted two plants today. The rains seem to have stopped but hopefully, my little pumpkin plants can flourish. I'm going to toss the seeds from the pumpkin I used for this month's bundt down there too. The more the merrier. I envision a backyard filled with more pumpkin than I could ever eat. That actually happened early last year. I made so many pumpkin breads for a church sale, gave away some, and steamed lots of pumpkin for dinner. I am suddenly craving a pumpkin and coconut cream pasta from Usain Bolt's Tracks & Records. C'mon pumpkin! Grow!

I used fresh pumpkin puree in this Bundt but feel free to use the canned stuff. I don't get the canned stuff here so I either roast the pumpkin or stick it in the slow cooker (no water!). I find that it is best to cook twice the weight that I need for a recipe. This helps to account for the water lost during the cooking process. 

There is pumpkin galore from the Bundt Bakers today. Scroll down to see them all. Thanks for hosting, Stacy!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bundt 

Ingredients 

2 3/4 cups flour 

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons ginger 

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips

4 eggs

1 cup oil

1 1/2 cup brown sugar 

2 cups (15 oz) pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla 

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Thoroughly grease and flour and Bundt pan. 

Whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Toss in the chocolate chips and stir. 

In a separate bowl, whisk the 4 eggs, then add the remaining ingredients. Beat thoroughly. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir until incorporated. The batter is thick!! Don't overmix. 

Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan.  Bake 55-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. 

Cool completely before removing from the pan. Glaze the cooled cake, if desired. 

Enjoy!

• Buttermilk Pumpkin Bundt + a Browned Butter Glaze from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bundt from Passion Kneaded
• Pumpkin Bundt with Caramel Icing from Palatable Pastime
• Pumpkin Chai Spiced Bundt Cake from Tartacadabra
• Pumpkin Chocolate Bundt from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pumpkin Studded Bundt from Sneha's Recipe
• Sour Cream Mini Pumpkin Bundt Cakes from Making Miracles
• Spiked Pumpkin Gingerbread Bundt from Food Lust People Love
• The Perfect Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Maple Glaze from Patyco Candybar
• White Chocolate Pumpkin Cake with Chai and Cardamom from Sweet Sensations

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers can be found on our home page.

Anadama Bread - #BreadBakers

This uniquely named bread has its roots in New England. The name could be from a disgruntled husband who was upset about only having cornmeal and molasses for lunch and shouted "Ana, damn her!" as he whipped up his own concoction or from an inscription on a tombstone or most likely neither. The loaf has white flour, whole wheat flour, cornmeal and molasses. Some also add rye as I did. I only get a really dark molasses in my supermarket. It isn't labeled Blackstrap but I guess that is what it is. It does lead to a very molasses-forward loaf. If you don't want a strong molasses flavour, opt for a lighter molasses. I need to get my hands on some lighter molasses because this one will definitely be too intense cookies.

Please scroll down to see all the brown breads that the Bread Bakers have for you this month! Thanks for hosting this month's Bread Bakers, Wendy! 

Andama Bread

Ingredients

113g cornmeal

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons  oil

1/4 cup molasses

1 cup boiling water

240g all purpose flour

57g  whole wheat flour

53g rye flour

28g nonfat dry milk

2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

Directions 

Mix cornmeal and salt in a bowl. Add oil, molasses and boiling water. Stir until smooth and then let cool for 15 minutes. 

Add the remaining ingredients. Mix until it just comes together and then let rest for 20 minutes. 

Knead until smooth. It should be a little sticky. If it seems a bit dry, add a little water at a time. 

Allow to rise until doubled. You can also refrigerate overnight. 

After the dough has doubled, shape as desired - a boule or form a log and place in a greased loaf pan. 

Cover and let it proof until doubled once more - about 90 minutes depending on the temperature of your room. 

Near the end of rising time, preheat oven to 350 F. 

Bake 40-45 mins or until the centre registers 190F. 

Cool and devour. 

Notes 

Slightly adapted from King Arthur Baking Company

• Anadama Bread from Passion Kneaded
• Boston Brown Bread from Pastry Chef Online
• Brown Sandwich Bread from Anybody Can Bake
• Copy-Cat Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Copy-Cat Outback Steakhouse Bread from Making Miracles
• Golden Braid of Bern from What Smells So Good
• Irish Brown Bread from Palatable Pastime
• Molasses Rye Slider Buns from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• No Knead Sprouted Wheat and Flax Seed Sandwich Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Sourdough Molasses and Honey Brown Bread from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Traditional Steamed Brown Bread from A Messy Kitchen
• Whole Wheat Rolls from Magical Ingredients
• Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread from Ambrosia
• Wholemeal Soda Bread from Food Lust People Love

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Java Plum Muffins - #MuffinMonday

A few years ago I discovered an unknown tree growing in my backyard. I did some research and found that it is called java plum but Jamaicans call it ribena (a reference to the black currant drink). It is native to Southeast Asia. The fruit is extremely tart and I immediately wanted to bake something with them. I also learned that Jamaicans make a drink with them. Side note: Jamaicans make a drink with EVERYTHING. Multiple times this past week persons mentioned making pumpkin punch. I stick to baking. 

I wanted to use the java plum as one would use blueberries but the huge seeds are a pain. Deseeding them leaves you with little yield and a very purple kitchen and hands. I ditched my plans and in 2018, the tree was cut down because it had become a hazard (tall trees + hurricanes). A few weeks ago, I noticed the fruit on the ground. The tree had sprung back up and was bearing. Time to try again. This time I made a bit of a jam and swirled that into my muffins. 

Scroll down to see what the other Muffin Monday bakers made!

Java Plum Muffins 

Yield: 12 muffins

Jam Ingredients

250 g Java plums 

1/4 cup water

75g sugar

1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice

Muffin Base Ingredients 

1 3/4 cup flour 

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt 

2 eggs 

3/4 cup sugar 

1/2 cup oil 

1/2 coup sour cream 

1/4 cup milk 

2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Directions 

Place the java plums and water in a small pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring often until the pulp falls off the seeds. Turn the heat off and remove the seeds. That is a bit tedious. Sorry.

Add sugar to the pulp and return to medium heat. Cook until thickened. Stir it often so it doesn't stick tot the sides or bottom of the pot. I reduced mine by about a half or so. Stir in the lemon or lime juice. 

Allow to cool completely. Chill if you have time. 

Preheat oven to 425 F. Grease or line a 12 cup muffin pan. 

Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk eggs and sugar then add oil, sour cream, milk and vanilla. 

Divide the batter among the 12 muffin wells - they will be almost full. Gently swirl in a heaping teaspoon of java plum jam. Alternatively, you can add about a tablespoon and a half of batter, a little jam, more batter and then swirl a little more jam. That gives you a nice surprise in the middle. 

Bake for 5 minutes then lower the oven temperature to 350 F. Bake for another 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Notes

• My research suggested that the over-ripe fruit was not best for jam - less pectin. I still used very ripe fruit because it is not as tart. The texture was fine for my purposes.
• Don't swirl too much!

 

• Apple Streusel Muffin Tops from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Banana Mocha Chip Muffins from Making Miracles
• Dirty Chai Latte Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Java Plum Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Raspberry Rhubarb Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen 
• Sweet Summer Squash Muffins from Food Lust People Love

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Chocolate Chip Sweet Potato Muffins - #MuffinMonday

Recently I found a can of sweet potato in my cupboard that was dangerously close to its expiration date. I can't remember where I got it as it isn't readily available here. But it was perfect timing though as I had no idea what to make for this month's Muffin Monday. I wasn't sure that I'd like the addition of chocolate chips to a spiced muffin but I was pleasantly surprised. It made an already moist and delicious muffin even more tasty. 

Be sure to scroll down for the other tasty muffins this month!

Chocolate Chip Sweet Potato Muffins 

Yield: 16-18 muffins 

Ingredients 

1 3/4 cup sweet potato puree 

1/2 cup oil

3 eggs 

1 1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon grated ginger

2 1/4 cups flour 

1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with liners or grease well. 

Beat together sweet potato, oil, eggs, sugar and grated ginger. Whisk flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.

Gently fold the flour mixture into the sweet potato mixture until just moistened. Reserve some chocolate chips to place on the tops of each muffin and then fold the rest into the batter. Don't over mix. 

Divide among the muffin wells filling almost to the top. Top each with reserved chocolate chips. 

Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean. 

Notes

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen's Pumpkin Bread recipe. 

 

The final link list:

• Banana Nut Muffins from Making Miracles
• Cherry Almond Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Chocolate Chip Sweet Potato Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Cinnamon Sweet Potato Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Dark Chocolate Coffee Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Lemon Lavender Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Small Batch Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Spiced 'Tree Pumpkin' (Persimmon) Muffins from Culinary Adventures with Camilla

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.
#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Struan Bread - #BreadBakers

This multigrain loaf comes from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day. I love the slightly sweet loaf and while it is indeed the perfect sandwich bread, I also enjoyed it plain and also slathered with butter. You can switch up the grains used and that will determine the colour of your loaf. For this I used cornmeal (refined instead of the coarse that's preferred), oats, and brown rice so my loaf is on the lighter side. This loaf definitely requires a bit of planning. If you don't have extra cooked rice on hand, you will have to make some. I typically only have rice and peas on hand. It would have been easier to pick out the red peas (red peas in Jamaica = kidney beans) but I decided to just buy and cook some brown rice. Use leftover rice. Don't waste time cooking it - especially if you're like me and have not eaten brown rice in at least ten years.  Also, pay attention to the kneading steps. There are few stretch and folds to do so timing is important.

This month the Bread Bakers made some sandwich loaves for you. Scroll down to see what the others made. Thanks for hosting this month, Karen! 

Straun

Yield: 1 loaf 

Ingredients 

510 grams bread flour 

34 grams cornmeal 

40 grams rolled oats 

45 grams cooked brown rice 

45 grams brown sugar 

1 tablespoon honey 

2 teaspoons salt 

1 1/2 tablespoons yeast

1 cup + 1 tablespoon water 

6  1/2 tablespoons milk

Directions

Mix all the ingredients on low speed for 2 minutes then let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Mix again for another 2 minutes. The dough should be slightly sticky, if it is dry, add a little water by the teaspoon. If it is wet, sprinkle in some flour. 

Take the dough out the bowl and lightly knead for 2 to 3 minutes. If it is sticking a lot to your hands, oil your hands. Stretch and fold the dough from the bottom and then from both sides. Cover it and let it rest for 10 minutes. Do the stretch and fold 3 more times. You will notice that the dough has become easier to handle. 

Refrigerate overnight. 

Roll the dough out into a 9" x 12" rectangle. Roll up along the short side and place in a greased 9" x 5" pan. 

Allow to proof until the dough is about 1 1/2 times the original size. When the dough is almost ready, preheat the oven to 350 F. 

Bake 45 - 60 minutes until the crust is golden. 

Notes

• Peter Reinhart uses more water than I do (up to 2 more tablespoons) but it is extremely hot and humid here so I didn't need to use that much water. 
• I adjusted the recipe to yield enough for 1 9" x 5" loaf. 

Welcome to Bread Bakers! This month, our them is Sandwich Bread and our host is Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories.

• Eggless White Sandwich Bread by Sneha's Recipe
• Farmhouse White Sandwich Bread by Making Miracles
• Just Bread Sandwich Loaf by A Messy Kitchen
• Pain de Mie aka Pullman Loaf by Food Lust People Love
• Seeded Sandwich Bread by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Sourdough Burger Buns by Cook with Renu
• Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread by Ambrosia
• Sourdough Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread by Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Struan Bread by Passion Kneaded
• Subway Sandwich Bread by Anybody Can Bake

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Scotch Bonnet Cornbread Muffins - #MuffinMonday

One of two things happens to me each month. I either bake really early for Muffin Monday, think I have all the time in the world and then suddenly it's hours before the post is due and I have not written it yet. Or I think I have all the time in the world and suddenly it's Sunday and my muffin needs to be tested ASAP. Either way, the end of the month comes too quickly. 

This month I baked early and now I'm up late writing. I have work this week. 4 days of teaching face to face and I don't know if my anxiety is ready for this. Jamaica's numbers are relatively low and all our recent cases have been from tourists and returning residents. But that does not make me feel safe. Most of our cases are asymptomatic so one can never tell if the person next to you is ill. Oh, and there's the tiny matter of a huge backlog in testing. Tiny matter. 

Anyhoo, muffins.  This is another batch made for family that I did not taste. I tried psyching myself up - "Just a tiny taste! Cornmeal will not kill you!" But I couldn't get over the mental hurdle. 

My reviewers said this is best eaten with something. You might end up with extra spicy bite and having something else on your plate can soothe that a bit. I'll have to make myself some scotch bonnet muffins without the cornmeal soon because I felt left out. 

As always, scroll down to see what the other Muffin Monday bakers made for you today..

Scotch Bonnet Cornbread Muffins

Yield 12

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup milk

1 egg

1/4 cup oil

1 scotch bonnet, minced

2 cups Martha White Buttermilk White Cornmeal Mix

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 F. Line a muffin tin with muffin wrappers.

Whisk egg, oil and milk. Stir in the scotch bonnet and the cornbread mix until smooth. 

Divide among muffin wells. Bake 10- 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean. 

Notes

I used the entire pepper - seeds and all. You could leave the seeds out or use half the pepper but I think this is a go spicy or go home kinda muffin. Plus, the pepper does mellow a bit during baking.

• Banana Mocha Chip Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Cranberry Orange Pistachio (Vegan) Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Creamed Corn Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Lemonade Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Scotch Bonnet Cornbread Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Simple Summery Squash Muffins from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Soft Blueberry Muffins from Making Miracles
• Sour Cream Rhubarb Muffins with Pecan Streusel from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sweet Potato Mango Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Chocolate Scones - #BreadBakers

I am back in the land of the living! No I wasn't sick. I mentioned in my last post that I didn't have internet. It took a few weeks and signing up for new service but I have internet again. But the struggle is not over because they have sent a bill that makes no sense. How is it higher, dear Internet Service Provider? How?! I am also in a fight with my electricity company. Good times.

Anyway, I have chocolate scones to soothe me for now. This month the Bread Bakers are making scones or biscuits. I originally tried an angel biscuits recipe but it had too much liquid for my humid environment. I decided to switch to a sweet recipe but I will try the angel biscuits again soon. I've successfully made a sourdough version but have not found the perfect commercial yeast recipe yet. This chocolate scones recipe is a bit wet too but King Arthur's process of freezing the scones beforehand really helped with that.

Scroll down to see what the other bakers did. Thanks for hosting Sue!

Chocolate Scones

adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients 

 2 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons of cold butter, cubed
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions 

Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Cut the cubed butter into the flour mixture until the mixture is crumbly.
Whisk eggs, milk, and vanilla. Stir into the flour mixture until moistened. If it seems really wet, fret not.
Sprinkle a parchment sheet lined baking sheet with flour. Scoop out half the dough onto the floured parchment and shape into a 5" circle. Do the same with the other half. They should be about 3/4" thick.
Cut each circle into 4 or 6 wedges. Freeze for at least 30 minutes. If the mixture seems too wet, freezer first and then cut into wedges.

Heat oven to 425 F.

Pull the wedges at least 1/2 inch apart.

Bake 18 minutes. They shouldn't look wet.

Serve warm.
1 tablespoon

• Angel Biscuits from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Buttery Jeera Biscuits from Sneha's Recipe
• Cheddar Herb Scones from Food Lust People Love
• Cheddar and Chive Blossom Scones from Palatable Pastime
• Cheese and Herbs Scones from Ambrosia
• Chocolate Scones from Passion Kneaded
• Freeze and Bake Yeasted Mini Ginger Scones from A Messy Kitchen
• Laminated Biscuits from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Herbed Angel Biscuits from The Schizo Chef
• Sourdough Orange Biscuits from Zesty South Indian
• Sourdough Sandwich Biscuits from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Yeast-Raised Angel Biscuits from Making Miracles

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Berry Oatmeal Muffins #MuffinMonday

To

As I type this, I'm at my cousin's house, mooching off her WiFi while attending my friend's virtual baby sprinkle. Two weeks ago, my internet went down. I didn't pay much attention to it that night as it had been crappy all day. But the next morning when it was still down, I called my ISP. My house phone was also down so I figured this was some kinda wiring issue. It took them a few days to get out to me. I was right but I really could not have guessed the circumstances. Apparently, someone STOLE the cables on my street. Sure enough, when I looked out to the pole, I could see the ends of cables dangling. I don't know how they did it and I don't really know why. Word in the street is that they sell the copper inside. I called my ISP for an update and was told I need to call back on Monday. I have spoken to several persons who have mentioned that it takes ages for them to fix the cables in these circumstances. One friend has been waiting for 2 years. I don't have 2 years so when I do speak to them, I'm going to have to discuss alternatives. Yesterday I noticed the competitor's van in the area. They previously didn't offer service around here so I was just stuck with a sucky provider. But I need to look into whether they have finally expanded. Let me add that to my "Things to Do while I'm on WiFi List". It's long.

For the first time ever, I made my muffins weeks in advance. Good thing too because I would not have had broadband to spend hours researching recipes and obsessing over what to do. I adapted these from Sally Baking Addiction. They are really soft and moist and delicious. Even my 18-month-old nephew who isn't so keen on eating, enjoyed a few bites.

All the other muffins for this Muffin Monday are below!

Berry Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients
1 cup milk
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup fresh or frozen mixed berries


Directions

Pour the milk over the oats and set aside for at least 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Grease a muffin tin or add liners.

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl whisk oil, sugar, egg, and vanilla.

Gently combine the flour mixture with the egg mixture. Next, fold in the oats and milk and the berries.

Divide among muffin wells.

Bake for 5 mins and then reduce oven to 350 F.

Bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

Cool and enjoy..

• Berry Oatmeal Muffin from Passion Kneaded
• Chocolate Banana Mini Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Cinnamon Applesauce Muffins from Making Miracles
• Easy Chocolate Chip Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Jalapeño Corn Bread Muffins with Cheddar Butter from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Red, White & Blue Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Sour Cream Lemon Muffins with a Rosemary Glaze from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Sourdough Corn Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Banana Currant Muffins - #MuffinMonday

Happy Labour Day (Jamaica)! Happy Memorial Day (US)! And enjoy your Spring Bank holiday (UK)!  And happy Muffin Monday everyone! Scroll down to see the delicious muffin lineup this month.

A couple weeks ago, my cousin gave me a hand of extremely ripe bananas. And even though I have used banana in muffins several times over the years, I just couldn't resist one more banana muffin. This time I threw in some currants. Simple and delicious. 

Banana Currant Muffins 

Yield: 16 muffins 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup currants

2 cups flour 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

2 cups mashed bananas 

3/4 cup brown sugar 

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions 

About 30 minutes to an hour before baking, soak the currants in hot water to let them plump up a bit. After soaking, drain them.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin tin with liners. 

Whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. In another bowl, mash bananas with the sugar then add the beaten eggs, oil, and vanilla. 

Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and add the drained currants. Gently fold the mixture until just combined. 

Fill the muffin wells almost to the top. 

Bake 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean. 

Cool and enjoy!

• Apple Raisin Rye Muffins by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Banana Currant Muffins by Passion Kneaded
• Birthday Cake Muffins by Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Chocolate Chip Nutella Muffins by Palatable Pastime
• Jasmine Matcha Muffins by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pineapple Zucchini Muffins by Food Lust People Love
• Roasted Garlic Cheddar Muffins by Making Miracles
• Strawberry Fromage Blanc Muffins by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Boozy Orange Ginger Bundt #BundtBakers

For this month's Bundt Bakers, our host, Sandra, wanted us to “dress up our Bundts”. It's rare that I add so much as a glaze to my Bundts because the perfect consistency still eludes me and also because my brother hates all things glaze and frosting. He complained about the glaze on my morning glory Bundt. "Would have been better without that sweet thing." But forget my brother, this month I was going to shine! I had visions of a flower garden on my Bundt. Dreams. So lovey. Because here's the deal - I can't pipe a flower. I've mastered the 1M swirl but still can mess that up too. So the roses and pansies that I envisioned? Yeah right. My dining table was covered with blobs of frosting before I gave up and grabbed a random tip and piped some stars on the poor Bundt. Learn to pipe roses has been on my to do list for a few years but I just have not gotten around to it. Maybe this summer? My Covid19/Summer to do list is already crazy long.

I adapted this Bundt from King Arthur's Harvey Wallbanger cake. I have never heard of it before but it has alcohol so that was appealing. I didn't have Galliano so I added rum and then added extra zest and some ginger. The alcohol bakes out for the most part so the cake could do with an alcohol soak but I was trying to avoid having my brother complain about a sweet soak AND frosting. I need his help eating this cake! So go ahead - pour a rum syrup on. The crumb here is tight and almost reminds me of a pound cake. I think I'll try this base recipe again with some different flavours. Be sure not to overbake, I saw some reviewers complain about the cake being dry. Mine wasn't.

There's a list of beautifully dressed up Bundts below the recipe. Be sure to scroll down to check them out.


Boozy Orange Ginger Bundt

Ingredients 

3 cups flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup rum (I used Jamaican White Rum)
1/4 cup vodka
1/2 cup butter
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons orange zest
3 tablespoons grated ginger
1/3 cup oil
2 teaspoons vanilla 
4 eggs



Directions 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Thoroughly grease a 9 cup Bundt pan.
Whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Mix orange juice, rum and vodka.
Cream butter, sugar with the orange zest and grated ginger. Beat in oil and then add vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until each disappears before adding the other.
Scrape bowl.
Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, mixing until it just disappears and then 1/2 of the orange juice mixture. Scrape down the bowl.
Add another third of the flour mixture once again mixing until it just disappears and then add the remaining orange juice mixture. Add the final portion of flour, mix until it just disappears and scrape down the bowl. Mix for another minute.
Pour into well greased Bundt pan. Bake 45-50 minutes or until a skewer or spaghetti inserted into the Bundt comes out clean.

• Boozy Orange Ginger Bundt from Passion Kneaded
• Candied Meyer Lemon Almond Bundtlets from Food Lust People Love
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Bundt Cake from Making Miracles
• Million Dollar Bundt Cake from Sweet Sensations
• Mocha Bundt with White Chocolate from Sneha's Recipe
• Triple Oreo Bundt Cake from Simply Veggies
• Whipped Cream Bundt Cake from I Love Bundt Cakes
• White Chocolate Mocha Cake from Patyco Candybar

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers can be found on our home page.

Multigrain Spiced Raisin Bread

I braved the outside world to go grab a bag of rye and then completely forgot that Bread Bakers day was this Tuesday. I had next Tuesday in mind. Dates mean nothing in this new world. Luckily I remembered in time.

But can we talk about the extreme heat? Is it hot where you are? It's high 80's / 90's inside my house - even at night. This dough required a couple cycles of kneading and resting. Each time my dough would be very puffed up. I wish I had used less yeast. At one point I grabbed some ice to slow things down. I really want to revive my sourdough starter but I don't know how to maintain it in this heat.

Today, the Bread Bakers, hosted by Karen's Kitchen Stories, are baking breads with rye. My loaf is adapted from Smitten Kitchen who adapted it from Peter Reinhart. It is originally used mainly whole wheat but I used white because it has been years since I have worked with a completely whole grain loaf. Gone are the days I used to bake bread at least once per week. My skills are rusty. Read the instructions carefully. Peter Reinhart's recipes are notorious for not being the straightforward - mix all the ingredients and then bulk ferment, the end.

Multigrain Spiced Raisin Bread

Ingredients
Dough

330g bread flour
40g oats
40g rye
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup water/
2 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup raisins

Filling
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons flour
1 egg white plus half tablespoon water

Directions

Whisk bread flour, oats, rye, sugar, yeast, mixed spice, and salt. Beat the yolk and add it along with the milk, water, and oil. Stir together for a minute then allow to rest for 5 minutes. 

Knead for 2 minutes. The dough will be a sticky but if it seems extremely wet, add a little flour. If it's dry, add a teaspoon of water at a time. 

Knead for 4 minutes.

Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured counter. Knead a few times then cover and allow to rest for 10 minutes. 

Knead then rest for 10 more minutes. 

Fold in the raisins. 

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl. Allow to proof until doubled at room temperature or refrigerate overnight. I prefer to refrigerate overnight since the dough is a bit sticky and since my house is so hot. A slower rise leads to tastier bread. 

After proofing, prepare the filling. 

Combine sugar, mixed spice, and flour. 

Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and roll out into a 16" x 8" rectangle. Brush the dough with the egg white and water mixture. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the dough leaving a bit of one short end clean. 

Starting a the short side (not the one you left with a clean edge), roll the dough into a long. Press the seam and the ends closed. Place inside a greased 9" x 5" loaf pan. 

Allow to proof at room temperature until it has doubled (approximately 40 minutes). Halfway through, preheat the oven to 350 F. 

Bake for 40 minutes. The loaf will be at 190 F when cooked and sound hollow when tapped. 

Notes 

• Mixed spice is what it sounds like - a mixture of spices popular here in Jamaica. The brand I used is a mixture of pimento, cinnamon, nutmeg, anise, and orange peel. 
• I was out of raisins so I used currants. 
• I used dark rye because that's all my supermarket had. In a future iteration, I'll use a higher percentage of rye. 

• Black Pepper Rye from A Messy Kitchen
• Coffee Scones with Maple, Raisins, and Rye from Palatable Pastime
• Everyday Multigrain Rye Sourdough from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Light Rye Sourdough Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Multigrain Spiced Raisin Bread from Passion Kneaded
• Overnight Rye Buns from Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Rye Boule from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Spelt and Rye Breakfast Sourdough Bread from Cook with Renu
• Tangzhong Method Rye Bread from Sneha's Recipe

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.